Art galleries don’t often figure on anyone’s radar, let alone a writer’s. Instead, they’re just somewhere to go when the weather is bad. Or someone has come to visit your hometown and you’re not sure what else to show them. But art galleries and exhibitions can actually provide an excellent opportunity to improve your observational […]
Want to be a freelancer but don’t know where to start?
The freelancer occupies an interesting position in the workplace. They’re self-employed, so they have all of the problems associated with finding clients, filing tax returns, and marketing a business. But they also have tremendous freedom to take on the projects that interest them, work where and when they want, and build a lifestyle that suits their […]
3 cool ways that weather rocks your fictional world!
Weather is quite possibly the most common conversational topic, at least in the United Kingdom. It also contributed to one of the most widely quoted opening lines; “It was a dark and stormy night” But can weather do anything else to your fiction, other than setting the scene, or giving characters something to talk about? […]
Why should you walk in the shoes of your characters?
Point of view can be a tricky subject for writers. Does it just refer to whether you’re writing in first person, or third? It can do, but point of view can also be a brilliant way to get under the skin of your characters and find out what really makes them tick. And if you […]
Want to See Inside All Saints Church, Newcastle upon Tyne?
All Saints is one of the four original parish churches of Newcastle upon Tyne. Along with St Andrew’s, St Nicholas’, and St John’s, it provided spiritual sustenance for the old medieval city. But given it fell into disuse in the late 1950s, many people wonder what the old Georgian church looks like inside. Thanks to the […]
3 easy ways to use authentic emotions in your writing
Emotions are the bridge that connects the writer to the reader. In her excellent book, 52 Dates for Writers, Claire Wingfield points out that fiction really needs authentic emotions. That’s not just for your characters – that’s also for your readers. Instalment 7 of 52 Dates for Writers revolves around problem-solving for you as a writer. […]
